Nominal Linkers in Balochi

Abstract

This chapter provides a description of the nominal linkers along with their distinctive properties in the Karachi dialect of Balochi. The linking elements in this language signal modification (and complementation) in a head final NP and PP structure. Thus, they are referred to as Reverse Ezafe (REZ). There are two types of REZ in Balochi; the first one appears between attributive adjectives (REZ1) and their head noun, also known as attributive marker, while the second one links possessors and the complements of postpositions to their heads (REZ2), widely known as the Genitive case marker. The data show that REZ1 and REZ2 have further differences such that REZ1 phonologically has an invariant form whereas REZ2 has two different forms depending on the number property of the element it attaches to (i.e., singular versus plural). It is also demonstrated that they display distinctive properties when the head noun is elided in the context of ellipsis.